Ignite Me (A Burning Desire Novel) (36 page)

“Fuck.” I hear Jared’s voice followed by his steps. He’s
running towards something and blocking my vision peripheral.

When I push to my feet, I see her. It’s not a
hallucination. It’s her; it’s Clea, running to Jared in panic. My feet aren’t
working, they’re weak, relief and anger possessing my body and confusing it to
such an extreme that I kept blinking repeatedly, assessing reality and chimera.

When I manage to walk, I run, and I’m at her side in a blink
of an eye.

“Call Jude.” I order Jared and he nods silently.

I shut my eyes close and pull her in my arms. She’s
grabbing me with the bits of strength she has left in her. Her fingers dug in
every inch of my back and I relish the feeling of having her back where she
belongs. But my eyes are still shut close, I’m afraid of what I might see if I
open them. I feel something I haven’t felt in a while, it surpasses fear,
greater, stronger, and angrier.

My baby is hurt.

My baby is scared.

My baby is in my arms again.

But her breathing is shallow, she keeps repeating my name and
I’m still unable to look at her. My lips are against her forehead. I can taste
the mix of sweat and mud. I draw a silent prayer; my heart is throbbing out of
my mouth. I’m beyond scared. I’m hopeless.

Hopeless for her to be all right despite what happened.

“Oh my god.”

I hear Jude breathing out and feel his hand brushing hers
next to mine. He’s able to see her and I can tell that she’s in bad shape by
the way his breathing shifted. I hear frenzy behind me, the sound of a car
hitting the brakes and smashing into something big. I turn around and watch as
Jared and his team are stranding Caden in his car. He’s trying to escape, but
two of the men have already blocked the route in front of him, and he just
smashed his car against a tree.

“Take her.”

I tug Clea in Jude’s arms and he lifts her up. I still
can’t look at her. I’m trying to avoid gazing at her and risk my anger getting
the best of me.

“Take the pilot and the helicopter. Get her to a
hospital.” I urge him.

Jude frowns at me but I can’t deal with it right now. The
sight of the blood on her feet is all I can manage without breaking down into
pieces. I won’t be able to function or act rationally.

He nods and walks back to the helicopter. The pilot is
there before him and I see him reach out for the first aid kit. I’m breathless.
I can see her arms wrapped around Jude’s neck. Her head is buried in his crook.
I know I should just go and snatch her back in my arms, but I need to take care
of Audrey and Caden.

When I walk back inside the house, Jared and two of his
men that I haven’t seen before are hovering over Caden as he tries to get away
from their hold. They straighten him up and I walk to where they are standing
next to the fireplace.

My fist hit his jaw as soon as I’m standing in front of
him. He bends with a growl. They straighten him up again and this time my punch
is harder, followed by another, and another until I lose count. I only pause
once I see the blood scattered around the floor.

His bloody grin is too much for me and my fist hits his
jaw again. I hear the crack, but somehow, he’s still grinning at me and it’s
taking its toll on me.

“Don’t you understand what’s happening here?”

My attention turns to Audrey’s tart tone.

“Enlighten me.”

I reach out for the sheet and wipe the blood on my
knuckles.

“He ruined her for you.” She answers promptly and smirks
at me, “Actually, scratch that, WE ruined her for you. She will never be the
same again, you won’t be able to touch her, look at her, or fuck her without
her screaming her lungs out in fear.”

Her words have no impact on me, and that’s when I realize
what it’s really about. I can see it in her eyes. I turn to Caden and I can see
it too.

“I get it now.” I say as I continue wiping the blood on my
hand, “We have a term for this, it’s called ‘a vice perpetua’.”

I offer them a scornful laugh, “You thought that whatever
you did to her will affect the way I see her – and you had the twisted
idea that you will manage to scar her so deeply that she won’t be able to be
with me again, sexually and otherwise.”

I’m broiling inside, wondering about what went down in
this fucking hellhole, but I’m not flinching, not out of pride, but because I
mean every word I’m about to break them with.

I turn to Audrey first, “Whatever you did to MY Clea,
trust that I’ll have people doing the same to you and much more. But before I
bury you inside the filthiest women’s prison in this fucking country, I’m going
to tell you something…”

I pause as I walk to her, “Truth is I never loved you. You
were a good distraction; a good fuck to let off some steam like any other cheap
escort. It took me a long time to see your true colors.”

Her smirk fades away with each word; “It took one
beautiful angel gazing down at a painting to see pureness and real beauty, to
see your ugliness, and to realize that whatever you represented at the time, it
was nothing compared to what she means to me. You probably didn’t know this,
but I chased that woman across continents, and I would’ve gone through hell and
beyond just to see her smile again.”

I round back to where Caden is standing, his ugly grin is
fading too, “So you see, no one can ruin that kind of commitment. You may think
you ruined her, but it’s nothing that the touch of my hand won’t erase, or that
my love for her won’t fix. I will worship that woman till the moment I die, and
if I draw breath in another life, I’ll search for her and continue to do so for
as long as she will let me. I will love her, I will cherish her, and I will
raise a fucking preschool with her.”

“Landon.”

Jude snaps my attention back to him. As I turn around to
look at him, I meet Clea’s gaze. She’s crying, tears streaming down her face
and setting fire to my soul. My feet are walking to her instinctively. Her legs
are swollen, covered with scratches, blood, and mud. Her dress is ripped and
muddy, her arms bruised.

My gaze creeps up again to her beautiful face and she
wipes her tears. I bring my hand up to cup her cheek. She pushed into my palm and
gives it a light kiss. I know she’s weak, but my first instinct is to pull her
in my arms and break her bones in my embrace. I’m shaking, trying to control my
hold on her, I can’t get enough of her, I need to feel her safe and I know that
my arms are the safest place for her to be and remain there forever.

“Take me home.” She murmurs against my crook.

Her hot breath against my skin makes my heart race. I’m
restraining the urge to kiss her mouth, because I’m only alive when her mouth
breathes life into my entire being with lustful and passionate lushes.

I break away and look at her with a silent nod, “Can I
carry you?” It’s a plea, I’ve lost too much time on the other two already. I
need to be with her, heal her, take care of
her, and
continue to live through her.

When she nods, I lift her in my arms, and she buries her
head in her favorite place on earth. Me.

She doesn’t look up when I wriggle around to give my
instructions to Jared, “Take them to the fifth precinct, I’ll call Captain Lane
from the hospital. Take all the evidence with you, but not that suitcase. Also
have the D.A call Evelyn and arrange for a meeting, I want to make sure these
two never find a way out of jail.”

Without giving Audrey another look, I walk out of the
house. I turn back one last time, “Throw in some extra punches, and don’t let
the police know which hospital we’re at.”

Jared shakes his head in acknowledgment. He knows his
business, and I can rely on him.

Jude surprises me by striding inside the house and letting
his fist meet with Caden’s face several times. He glares down at Audrey and
walks next to me, “Let’s get her to a hospital.” He says as he brushes away
strands from Clea’s face.